Just days after Little League International denounced Goffstown manager Jeff O'Connell's decision not to play his last substitute in the New England Regional semifinals last Friday in Bristol, Conn.,...

Nashua team to represent NH at Destination ImagiNation global finals

Team Oh My Guava from the Academy for Science and Design is raising money to attend the Destination ImagiNation global finals in Knoxville, Tenn. From left to right are Kshma Dharampal, Celia Macarelli, Becky Moser, Anna Correia, Ravalika Damerla, Kimberly Ortega, Lizzy Cassady and Lisa Moser. (BENJAMIN KLEIN)

Science and Design in Nashua will be representing New Hampshire at the Destination ImagiNation global finals in Knoxville, Tenn., in May.

The team will be competing in an improvisational creative problem-solving activity where team members must act out a scenario using three random nouns while using nothing but T-shirts and markers, and one another as props.

The team members, eighth-graders Becky Moser, Anna Correia, Kimberly Ortega, all of Merrimack, Kshma Dharampal of Nashua, Celia Macarelli of Wilton and Ravalika Damerla of Bedford, obviously have a good time in each other's company, as they can hardly stop laughing when together.

"We have a lot of fun," Dharampal said, a statement that was quickly echoed by the rest of the team.

Junior Lizzy Cassady of Merrimack serves as the team manager, a role that adult manager Lisa Moser said Cassady has filled admirably.

"Lizzy is in charge, so much so that I have basically been relegated to being a chauffeur," Moser joked.

Moser, who works in administration at the academy and is the mother of Becky, said the team needs about $1,300 per person to send everyone to Knoxville for the competition. In order to reach that goal, Moser said the team is soliciting donations from area businesses that can be auctioned off, with all the proceeds going toward the trip.

"Destination ImagiNation gives you a place where you can find people, a place where I can connect to others with similar interests. And participating in the competition really helps you reach your full potential," Ortega said.

Correia called preparing for the competition with her teammates "a stress reliever."

She added, "It lets me show who I really am, my funny creative side."

While many of the girls on Oh My Guava have participated in Destination ImagiNation competitions in the past, Macarelli said she is new to it. She is already hooked, however.

"I saw how much fun they were having and figured it would be a good time. I was right," Macarelli said.

Many of the girls agreed that a big part of the fun is being able to embarrass yourself in a safe environment.

"Last year we did a different challenge. This is more fun," Becky Moser said.

Damerla said most of this year's team was also on a team that competed last year in the building competition, but that they didn't have as much fun.

If you would like to learn more about the team or to help them raise money, visit www.ohmyguava.com.